Rain fails to dampen spirits at 37th Annual Capital District Scottish Games

Pipe bands from across the country march through the Altamont Fairgrounds on the second day of the 37th annual Capital District Scottish Games, hosted by the Schenectady Pipe Band, on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014.
Lauren Halligan - lhalligan@digitalfirst media.com

ALTAMONT >> The sound of bagpipes rang clearly from the hilltop this holiday weekend, as kilt-clad artists and athletes gathered for the yearly Capital District Scottish Games.

The 37th annual games, held Saturday and Sunday at the Altamont Fairgrounds, are a two-day festival for all things Scottish.

The athletic portion of the event, the games, include age-old Scottish sports, such as stone throwing and sheaf tossing, and the less traditional haggis hurling.

Professional athletes, many of whom travel far distances to Altamont, competed in Saturday’s games, while amateurs played for fun on Sunday.

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Even though day two of the games was rather wet, the amateur athletes still gave it their all in events such as the hammer toss, caber toss, and sheaf toss.

The other major component of the games is music. Nearly 30 bands from around the country, consisting of thousands of bagpipers and drummers, filled the field of the fairgrounds Saturday, playing the tunes of their heritage. Some of the competing groups come from Texas, Kentucky, and even Canada. Sunday afternoon they gathered again for massed bands around lunchtime. Through rains were heavy, the musicians marched on to the beat.

Two of those bagpipers were Long Islanders Ward Conolly and John McGrath, who play with the Inis Fada Pipe Band. The Capital District Scottish Games are one of about eight bagpipe contests the group competes in each year. However, unlike the true root of the upstate event, their band is Irish. In their bright blue kilts, the two men enjoyed a brew together Sunday afternoon under shelter of the beer tent, while raving about the festival. “Great contest, great ground, good location,” said Conolly, who’s attended for the last 20 years.

Many of the competitors commended the games’ organizers, the Schenectady Pipe Band, for hosting a well-run competition each year. Chairman of the games Peter Plourde, said he has been directing the operation for about a decade. The Capital District Scottish Games are the only such event in the area, and it is certainly a multifaceted festival. “It’s quite an affair here,” Plourde said Sunday. “You can do a lot of different things here and have a great time.”

As with any festival, food is a major component. Scottish pies, bridies (Scottish meat-filled pastries) and jumbo turkey legs were among the delicacies at the event. Cigars, traditional celtic garb and jewelry were also for sale as souvenirs.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 people attended the event this year, whether to compete or just spectate. First timers Jay and Christy Deitchman were a few of the thousands who came to as part of the latter group this year.

Hailing from the town of Maryland in Central New York, Christy Deitchman first heard of the event last summer, but a bit too late. So,“We put it on our calendar to make sure that we could come this year so that we could try it out and see what we thought,” she said. Early in their visit “It’s cool so far,” she said. “There’s nothing like this where we live, so this is a new experience.”